Overview (4)

Mini Bio (1)

Piper Laurie was born Rosetta Jacobs in Detroit, Michigan, on January 22, 1932, to Charlotte Sadie (Alperin) and Alfred Jacobs, a furniture dealer. Her father was a Polish Jewish immigrant and her mother was of Russian Jewish descent. Her father moved the family to Los Angeles, California, when she was 6-years-old. Rosetta was a pretty red-haired little girl, but very shy, so her parents sent her to weekly elocution lessons. In addition to her lessons in Hebrew school, she studied acting at a local acting school, and this eventually led to work at Universal Studios.

Universal had signed her as a contract player when she was only 17-years-old, and changed her screen name to Piper Laurie. She was cast in the movie, Louisa (1950), and became very close friends with her costar, Ronald Reagan. She was then cast in Francis Goes to the Races (1951) with Donald O'Connor, Son of Ali Baba (1952) with Tony Curtis, and Ain't Misbehavin' (1955) with Rory Calhoun. The studio tried to enhance her image as an ingénue with press releases stating that she took milk baths and ate gardenia petals for lunch. Although she was making $2,000 per week, her lack of any substantial roles discouraged her so much that by 1955 when she received another script for a Western and "another silly part in a silly movie", she dropped the script in the fireplace, called her agent and told him she didn't care if they fired her, jailed her or sued her.

From there, she went to New York City to study acting, and worked on live television, starring in The Hallmark Hall of Fame version of "Twelfth Night" (1957), "The Days of Wine and Roses" (1958) with Cliff Robertson, which debuted on Playhouse 90 on October 2, and as "Kirsten" in the Playhouse 90 version of "Winterset" (1959). In 1961, she got the part of Paul Newman's crippled girlfriend in the classic film, The Hustler (1961). She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for that role of "Sarah Packard". That same year, she was interviewed by a writer/reporter for the New York Herald Tribune, Joe Morgenstern. She liked his casual dress and lifestyle and, 9 months later, they were married. When she did not receive any substantial acting offers after The Hustler (1961), she retreated with her husband to Woodstock, New York, where she pursued domestic activities such as baking (her grandfather's trade) and raising her only daughter, Anne, born in 1971. In 1976, she accepted the role of "Margaret White", the eccentric religious zealot mother of a shy young psychic girl named Carrie (1976), played by Sissy Spacek. Piper received her second supporting Oscar nomination for this role. She and her husband divorced in 1981, she moved to Southern California and obtained many film and television roles.

She got a third Oscar nomination for her role as "Mrs. Norman" in Children of a Lesser God (1986), and won an Emmy that same year for her acting in Promise (1986), a television movie with James Garner and James Woods. She has appeared in more than 60 films, from 1950 to the present. Ms. Laurie has appeared in many outstanding television shows from "The Best of Broadway" in 1954, to roles on "Playhouse 90" in 1956, roles on St. Elsewhere (1982), Murder, She Wrote (1984), Matlock (1986), Beauty and the Beast (1987), ER (1994), Diagnosis Murder (1993) and Frasier (1993). Her daughter, Anne Grace, has made her a grandmother, and though she lives in Southern California, she frequently visits her daughter in New York.

Brief social connection to G. David Schine (1927-96), the hotel heir and staff assistant to the notorious Sen. Joseph McCarthy. When Schine was drafted into the Army, McCarthy and Schine's staff colleague Roy Cohn unsuccessfully sought to exert their influence to get him a commission as an officer, which he was not qualified for. This led to a congressional investigation and the 1954 televised Army-McCarthy hearings.

In her 2011 autobiography, "Learning to Live Out Loud: A Memoir", she revealed that she and Mel Gibson had a one-night stand while working together on the movie Tim (1979), despite their almost-25-year age difference and the fact that she was married at the time.

In her 2011 autobiography, "Learning to Live Out Loud: A Memoir", she revealed that she lost her virginity to Ronald Reagan during the time they were filming Louisa (1950) together. Reagan was in his 40s, while Laurie was still in her teens; in the movie, Reagan plays her father.

While working at Universal, they tore up her contract three times, to give her more money, in extending the time. She made a mistake by signing a contract, when she didn't need to.

She inherited her sense of humor from her parents; though she inherited her father's face.

After Ronald Reagan's divorce from Jane Wyman, Laurie had a very serious relationship with him. She was 21 years his junior.

Her family lived in Arizona, in a shack on the desert, temporarily.

Prior to Laurie's birth, her sister Sherry Arlene Jacobs had bee afflicted with asthma, a disease her sister had, since birth. She and her parents were so concerned that at one point they loaded Piper and Sherry onto a bus and went to Arizona, to see if the climate would help Sherry Arlene's asthma. Unfortunately, it didn't.

Her sister, Sherry Arlene Jacobs, died in 2006.

Had changed her name from Rosetta Jacobs to Piper Laurie, when she wanted to become an actress.

Had suffered from severe anxiety disorder during her early childhood, as did her sister.

Began acting when she was 11.

Before she was a successful actress, she won a grand prize for a screen test at Warner Bros.

Grew up in a traditional Jewish house with Hebrew lessons at the synagogue, although she doesn't attend anymore.

Along with Sherry Arlene, Laurie was also placed in a children's home.

Underwent an abortion in 1961 after relocating to New York City before her relationship to future husband Joe Morgenstern.

Personal Quotes (2)

Nobody thought of me as an actress. They just remembered that publicity story about my munching flower petals for breakfast. I even thought of giving up the name 'Piper Laurie' because I felt there was a stigma attached to it. I never could figure out just how many parts I lost and how many parts I won because of this name. I know some producers and directors said, 'Well, maybe she can act even if her name is Piper Laurie!'

If I had stayed in Hollywood, I would have killed myself. Or someone would have done it for me.